Just a month after Ed Miliband headlined the TUC's "Future That Works" demonstration in London, Electoral Commission statistics on party funding for Q3 2012 show his union "sponsored walk" raised almost £2.5 million. New figures out today reveal:
• Labour banked £2,470,908.47 from the trade unions in the last quarter.
• 82 per cent of Labour's donations in the period came from the trade unions, up significantly from 70 per cent in Q2 2012.
• Unite remains Labour's single biggest donor, giving almost £800,000 – over 25 per cent of all donations in Q3 2012.
• USDAW was Labour's second largest donor, giving over £600,000 in Q3 2012.
At the 20 October rally, trade union figures opposed every single spending cut needed to clear the deficit.
Grant Shapps, Conservative Party Chairman, said:
"Ed Miliband's sponsored union walk has clearly paid off. He's banked almost £2.5 million from the trade union barons who oppose every single spending cut needed to clear the deficit.
"Today's figures once again underline the iron grip that union barons have on Ed Miliband and his Labour Party."